{Guest Poster} Jana from Giggles Glitz & Glam

*One of my Twitter friends {Jana} is guest posting at Sew Chatty today and sharing a tutorial for a fun patio furniture redo! She has a great crafty blog called Giggles, Glitz, and Glam. Take it away Jana!*

I got some patio furniture from my ex-boyfriends (quasi boyfriend) family when they moved. By no means is it stylish, but I needed something on my front patio. Wait, is it bad that I still own something from an ex? Cody knows its from them so maybe that makes it better.
Furniture set includes two chairs & two tables. One is like a coffee table and the other like an end table. With a little love these things will be a beauty!
The Chairs, one is a swivel chair & the other is stationary

The tables, pardon how dirty they are.
(Maybe I left them dirty so they would look even better after the remodel)

The beautiful designs that make them worthy!

First and foremost, these babies need a serious cleaning job. We pulled out the power blaster option on our spray nozzle and still had to clean with rags & towels.

Second, some serious sanding down! These bad boys were rusting and had lots of paint flaking off as you can see in the pictures of the detail. We personally used 180-grit sandpaper. We tried using the electric sander to save some time, but we ended up doing most of it by hand. I used a hand sander while Cody used his actual hands.

I was rather impatient to start the project so I left Cody sanding and took the furniture that was ready to the garage to be painted. I laid down a sheet of painters plastic to keep my garage from turning a pretty shade of red.

I painted the furniture first with a primer by RustOleum and by the way, I LOVE RustOleum! Turns out this stuff is fast drying, although I probably should have let it dry a little longer before moving on. It was a sunny day and it felt dry to the touch so I went for it. I suggest reading the directions & maybe even following them.

I then spray painted the furniture with Heritage Red Satin Enamel spray by RustOleum. Pre-warning: it takes at least one can per piece of furniture. I made several trips to Lowe's and still need one more can to finish the swivel chair as well as touch up some of the other furniture.


Overall, I am very impressed with the job and the fact that I got to use spray paint. I LOVE spray paint. I also love Rust Oleum spray paint more than others that I have used. The spray nozzle is bigger than most so I hardly get any on my fingers where some cans I end up with the stuff all over myself.

So here is the finished product...

Don't mind the leaves that I have yet to brush off the porch.

Ready for spring so I can put some flowers in the pot!

The beautiful details.

Be sure to check out my blog for updates on the front porch make-over. Like how these cushions desperately need to be replaced now that my patio furniture is actually pretty!

{Featured Business} Fabric Shoppe

If you are fabric obsessed like yours truly…you know how important it is to find a great online shop that offers a great selection of fabric and great customer service!

It my pleasure to introduce you all to Jody and the Fabric Shoppe!

Jody is an all around great gal who runs a fabulous online fabric shop through Etsy! She has a really fun blog too where she shares tutorials, patterns, Etsy finds, and even the occasional recipe! To learn more about my new friend go here.

Some fabric I need…

I hope you will all go visit Jody and her fabulous shop! Tell her I said Hi :)

You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook to stay on top of all the latest Fabric Shoppe news!

Have a great day!

{Sponsor Love} Welcome Dianapantz!

I want to introduce you all to our newest sponsor Dianapantz!

Dianapantz is owned by a fabulous gal named Diana.

Diana is the crafter of many pretty things including…

beautiful hand knit scarves and hats

and cowls…going to need one of these!

Her newest item are these super cute Babypatz! Leg warmers for the tiny in your life! Look at those chubby legs covered in argyle!!!! Love it!

Diana is also has some wonderful photography prints and paintings available in her shop too!

And if Diana wasn’t awesome enough already…she also has a passion for the people of Haiti. You can read all about her story here. For the moth of February, Diana is donating 40% of the proceeds from her shop to aid the people of Haiti AND matching the donation out of her own pocket as well. Awesome.

You can use the code IMNEW20 at checkout to save 20% on your purchase!

I hope you’ll give Diana some love by visiting her shop and blog!

Have a great day everyone!!!

{Guest Poster} Kate from See Kate Sew

It is my pleasure to introduce to you Kate from See Kate Sew!

Kate's blog is so fun! She is amazingly creative, her tutorials are very easy to follow, and her baby is super cute! Oh and her Etsy shop…love! AWESOME baby gifts! If my little guy was smaller I’d be buying up those little hedgey hogs so fast! My friends need to have babies!

Take it away Kate!

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

I'm so excited to be guest posting today! I love Sew Chatty!! Thanks for having me :) I blog over at see kate sew, come by and say hi!

I'm going to show you a super easy way to make cute bunting for any holiday! I'm using shades of pink for Valentine's Day but you could use any colors to match your event or holiday!

Materials:
Bias Tape

Paint Chips

1. Cut your paint chips down to one color if they are in a strip.

2. Fold over and press bias tape. Spell "Love" with it if you want!


3. Pin paint chips in fold of bias tape leaving 4 inches in between each one.

4. Sew down the bias tape, catching the paint chips in the seam.

That's it! Told ya it was easy!

Thanks so much for visiting with us Kate! This is so cute {and cost effective}. I'm headed to Home Depot for some paint chips!

Weigh In Wednesday!

I hope you all are having a lovely week so far! The weather has been so pretty here. We are headed to the park this afternoon to enjoy some sunshine!

Today’s weight is….well I’m not sure! Our scale seems to me malfunctioning this morning! So I will try again tomorrow and update the post. How are you all doing? I am still struggling. Ugh. I know that meal planning and getting snacky things OUT of the house have always been huge for me…just need to do it!

I am following a new blogger who is posting a weekly menu so I am going to follow along with her. Simple organic recipes. Go visit The Weekly Plate for more details.

Even though I couldn’t weigh in…I still want to pass along a yummy recipe to you today!

Peppermint Plum shared this BEAUTIFUL veggie tray with us on my Made With Love Monday link party! Doesn’t it look yummy? Like eating a rainbow!

I love hummus and I found a really easy recipe on All Recipes the other day! We made it using our fancy new mini food processor courtesy of my Twitter friend @huntschef! She blessed me with this new toy just before Christmas. I love it! And I can’t wait to play with it some more. I think guac is next! Anyhow…the hummus recipe!

Extra Easy Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor combine garbanzo beans, garlic, cumin, salt and olive oil. Blend on low speed, gradually adding reserved bean liquid, until desired consistency is achieved.

*The NI is available on the site so you can figure out the Points Plus value. Or you can just look up hummus in your tracker.

Enjoy your day!

Warehouse Christmas Dessert & Made with Love Monday #5

Last night was the annual Christmas Dessert at our church The Warehouse. It's always such a fun event and last night was no exception! As I mentioned yesterday a friend and I were in charge of the coffee bar and dessert tables...lots of tasty hot drinks and yummy desserts were had by all! Here are a few photos to recap last nights festivities!

We offered 3 specialty drinks and a recipe for each...

Vanilla Latte

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

and Caramel Apple Cider. AND I even crafted a few Christmasy accessories for myself to wear!

A Felt Pom Pom Flower Pin

and some Rosette Hairpins...tutorial for these hairpins coming soon!

And now, I welcome you to Made with Love Monday #5! Last week was my biggest party to date so I thank all of you who stopped by and linked up your craftiness! You all amaze me with your talents! My {FAVORITE} link from last weeks party were the Stockings posted by A Creative Momma.


I just adore the fabrics she chose! The bright colors are so fun and I love how she used non-Christmas colored prints! Can't wait to see what you all share this week!

{Just a few party guidelines}

1. To link up, I would first love for you to follow my blog. I like followers. The more the merrier. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
   
2. Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine}
   
3. Link back here by grabbing the super cute button on my sidebar and posting it either in your post or somewhere on your blog to let others know you've joined the party!
   
4. If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!
   
5. Lastly, I would love for you to help me spread the word about Made with Love Monday! Follow me on Twitter {just click on my little Twitter button} and use this tweet "I linked up my crafty goodness to @sewchatty's "Made with Love Monday" http://bit.ly/gEcGHE Check it out and link up your craftiness too!"

Let's get the party started!

Handmade Business {Amy Cornwell Designs}

I'm sure you've noticed, but in case you haven't, it has been a very eventful week at Sew Chatty! It's been so exciting to see my blog and shop grow. I am having so much fun with it and I have you to thank...really, thank you so much for reading along and following! It means so much to know that people actually like my work! I cherish you.

Today, it my pleasure to introduce to you Amy Cornwell of Amy Cornwell Designs.


Amy is a wife and mother of two. She learned to design jewelry as hobby and way to make some extra money while she was in high school. She came back to jewelry design in 2003 and now designs her beautiful peices while juggling her home, her husband and children, and her job at her church...Pretty sure she is Superwoman! Amy designs and crafts each piece in her studio using only the finest materials. And for those of you that aren't into jewelry...guess what? She sews too and has several handmade items in her shop including wristlets, and ruffle necklaces!

Amy is my Twitter friend and we have lots of fun with the tweeting! A while back she had mentioned that she liked my Bible Covers and I LOVE her ruffle necklaces so we worked out a trade deal and I couldn't be more pleased! My new ruffle necklace is just perfect. I love simple jewelry and clearly, I love fabric...perfect combination I tell you! I get so many compliments every time I wear it! It arrived wrapped like a present with the cutest pink and white twine. I love presents! Here it is. Simple and just a little bit fancy.

Lucky for you Amy has two more ruffle necklaces in her shop and lots of other beautiful handmade items as well so please go visit. Make sure to follow her on Twitter so you hear all about her upcoming holiday sales!

Thank you Amy!!! I LOVE my new necklace! In case you all were wondering...here is the Bible Cover I made for my new friend. Hope you all have a blessed day!

Handmade Business: Cravings By Wendy...GIVEAWAY!

The cottage industry is making a comeback. Women are using their gifts and talents to create handmade business and contribute to their families income. Beginning today, each week, I will feature one of my favorite handmade businesses. It's so important to support handmade. Why hit the mall when you can support a local handmade business!

Today it is my pleasure to introduce to you Cravings By Wendy.
Cravings by Wendy began 5 years ago with a passion for creating treats and baked goods. Owner Wendy Lamp would make treats for her kids teachers, classmates and family occasions. The more she made, the more the request came in. Today, Cravings by Wendy is providing treats for parties, corporate events, fundraisers and more.

Definitely something for everyone and every taste bud! Wendy is always baking up something new and tasty. Each month she offers a special deal on her site she calls the "Monthly Craving". Check out her site for more details on that. You don't want to miss out!

My Personal Testimony: I have tasted lots of cake pops and various chocolate dipped treats in recent days and Cravings by Wendy FAR surpasses them all! She does amazing work that looks beautiful but even more importantly, it tastes really good! So the next time you're planning a special event, book Cravings by Wendy to provide the yummy goodness! You will not be disappointed!

And guess what??? We have a special GIVEAWAY for YOU!!!!

Wendy is giving away a November "Monthly Craving". That's a half dozen cake pops in Pumpkin and Chocolate! Just in time for Thanksgiving! You can snack on your yummy cake pops while basting your turkey! Entering is easy! After visiting Wendy's website, just comment below and let us know what your favorite item is!

Want EXTRA entries for a better chance those cake pops will be yours???? Here's how...

1. "like" Cravings by Wendy on her Facebook fan page and make sure you write a little note on her wall so we are sure to count your entry.
2. Follow Cravings by Wendy on Twitter and post this tweet..."I just entered @sewchatty's tasty #giveaway for a half dozen #cakepops from @cravingsbywendy! You can enter too! http://bit.ly/dlGr77 "

Good luck everyone and thanks so much for joining me in support of handmade businesses! I'll pick the winner Friday morning. Go give Wendy some love!

-Elizabeth